Stat Shots: Bucs-Lions

A closer look inside the statistics from Tampa Bay's win in Detroit on Sunday, including yet another record-setting performance by rookie QB Mike Glennon and an amazing run of turnovers

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

QB Mike Glennon now has the three best passer-rating games by a rookie in franchise history

The Bucs have produced nine straight takeaways without a giveaway by the offense, a first since 1999

WR Vincent Jackson ranks third in the NFL in catches of 20 yards over the past two seasons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Detroit Lions, 24-21, at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, a contest that included five takeaways by the Buccaneers' defense, which has eight in the last two games alone. Here are some of the more notable statistics and milestones from Sunday's game:

Last week, we spent a good amount of space breaking down the performance by Mike Glennon in Tampa Bay's win over Atlanta, and for good reason. After all, in terms of passer rating, it was the top performance by a rookie in franchise history. That honor lasted all of one week. On Sunday in Detroit, for the second week in a row and the third time in the last four outings, Glennon broke the Buccaneers' single-game record for passer rating by a rookie. Here is the updated list:

Quarterback

Opp-Date

Rating

1. Mike Glennon

DET-11/24/13

138.4

2. Mike Glennon

ATL-11/17/13

137.5

3. Mike Glennon

SEA-11/3/13

123.1

4. Josh Freeman

ATL-11/30/09

118.5

5. Shaun King

CHI-1/2/00

109.4

Glennon also improved his standing among the best single-game passer rating performances in league history. Already possessed of the sixth-best mark since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Glennon now has another game on the list that nearly ties Atlanta's Matt Ryan for fifth (Ryan's rating are better when taken to additional percentage points). That pushes Glennon's previous game to seventh on the list, but it marks him as only the second rookie QB ever to have two games of 137.5 or better. The other player on that list, Brock Dieter, was a rookie in name only; he had played roughly a decade in the Canadian Football League before a one-season cameo with the Los Angeles Rams to complete his career in 1985. Here is the updated list:

Quarterback (Team)

Opp-Date

Rating

1. Dieter Brock (RAM)

ATL-9/29/85

148.8

2. Geno Smith (NYJ)

ATL-10/7/13

147.7

3. Dieter Brock (RAM)

STL-12/15/85

140.8

4. Robert Griffin III (WAS)

NO-9/9/12

139.9

5. Matt Ryan (ATL)

OAK-11/2/08

138.4

6. Mike Glennon (TB)

DET-11/24/13

138.4

7. Mike Glennon (TB)

ATL-11/17/13

137.5

Glennon has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of his eight NFL starts, and he already owns the team's rookie record with 13 scoring tosses. He also has thrown only one interception in the last six games and has a total of four overall. That 13-4 TD-INT ratio is a big reason that Glennon's passer rating has risen to 91.6, making him the ninth-highest rated passer in the entire NFL. The next rookie on the list, Buffalo's E.J. Manuel, ranks 24th. Glennon's passer rating, if maintained, would be the fifth-best single-season mark in franchise history among all players, not just rookies. It is just a bit below the 92.9 mark that Brad Johnson put up while guiding the 2002 team to the Super Bowl title. Here are the current top five, including Glennon's mark with five games to go:

Player

Year

Rating

1. Brian Griese

2004

97.5

2. Josh Freeman

2010

95.9

3. Jeff Garcia

2007

94.6

4. Brad Johnson

2002

92.9

5. Mike Glennon

2013

91.6

In Detroit, CB Johnthan Banks, LB Lavonte David and S Keith Tandy all secured their second interceptions of the season. They join S Mark Barron, LB Mason Foster and CB Darrelle Revis in a six-way tie atop the Buccaneers' interception chart this season. This marks the first time since 2008 that at least six different Tampa Bay defenders have each had multiple interceptions in a season. There were seven Bucs on the list that year: Ronde Barber (4), Aqib Talib (4), Jermaine Phillips (3), Sabby Piscitelli (2), Gaines Adams (2), Phillip Buchanon (2), Barrett Ruud (2). The Buccaneer record for highest number of players with multiple interceptions in a single season is eight, first set by the 1992 squad and then tied by the 2002 Super Bowl championship team.

-- S K. Tandy had one of four Buccaneer interceptions off Matthew Stafford Sunday

Lavonte David's interception was the first of the Bucs' four on Sunday. David also has 5.0 sacks on the season, making him one of only six players in team history to combine five sacks and two interceptions in a single season, and the first since Gaines Adams in 2008. The others: CB Ronde Barber, 2000; DE Simeon Rice, 2003; DT Warren Sapp, 2002; and LB Broderick Thomas, 1992.

LB Mason Foster returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown against Atlanta in Week 11. That pick-six, coupled with the 48-yard interception return to paydirt by Johnson on Sunday in Detroit gives Tampa Bay an interception return for a touchdown in consecutive games for the first time since 2003 (vs. Indianapolis, Oct. 6 and at Washington, Oct. 12).

As is evident from the above notes, the Buccaneers' defense has been coming up with turnovers in bunches in recent weeks. At the same time, the Mike Glennon-led offense has done a marvelous job of protecting the football. In fact, while the defense has secured eight takeaways over the past two weeks, the offense hasn't given it up once. That 8-0 run in wins over Atlanta and Detroit is the best the Bucs have had in a while. There are a number of ways to break it down:

The last time the Bucs had at least eight takeaways over a two game span was in 2007, when they secured a total of 10 in wins at Atlanta (Nov. 18) and vs. Washington (Nov. 25).

The last time the Bucs had a turnover ratio of 8 or better over a two game span was…well, the same two games listed above. The offense turned it over a total of two times in those wins over the Falcons and Redskins, for a 8 ratio exactly.

The last time the Bucs had a turnover ratio of 8 or better without committing a turnover of their own over a two game span – as they have the last two weeks – was in 1995. In wins at Carolina (Oct. 1) and vs. Cincinnati (Oct. 8) that season, the Bucs secured 10 takeaways and didn't turn it over once.

Tampa Bay also had the final takeaway in their Monday night win over Miami in Week 10, a game-clinching Darrelle Revis interception. That means the team has forced nine turnovers in a row, so to speak, without giving one back. The last time that happened was in 1999, when they got 11 in a row in wins over Atlanta (Nov. 21), at Seattle (Nov. 28) and at home against Minnesota (Dec. 6). No, it's no coincidence that all of the games we are talking about in these various streaks are Buccaneer victories.

CB Danny Gorrer recorded the first blocked punt of his career in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers’ second blocked punt of the season. The Buccaneers have blocked five punts over the last two seasons, the most in the NFL in that span. Their two blocked punts this year have come in the last two weeks, as Dekoda Watson also denied an Atlanta attempt in Week 11. The Buccaneers are the first team in the NFL to block a punt in two consecutive games since Baltimore did it in 2002, against Tennessee on Nov. 24 and at Cincinnati on Dec. 1.

WR Tiquan Underwood's 85-yard touchdown catch-and-run at Ford Field. It was the second-longest ever in a road game and the third-longest that resulted in a touchdown. was the fourth-longest passing play in Buccaneers franchise history. Underwood's catch and Vincent Jackson's team-record 95-yarder last season against New Orleans are the only two offensive plays to cover more than 80 yards for the Buccaneers in the last 22 seasons. Here are all nine completions in team history that covered 80 yards or more (the longest run in team history covered 78 yards):

Players

Yards

Opp.-Date

1. Josh Freeman to Vincent Jackson

95

vs. New Orleans, 10/21/12

2. Vinny Testaverde to Willie Drewrey

89t

vs. Atlanta, 12/2/90

3. Vinny Testaverde to Willie Drewrey

87t

at Green Bay, 9/15/91

4. Mike Glennon to Tiquan Underwood

85t

at Detroit, 11/24/13

5. Doug Williams to Kevin House

84t

at Detroit, 12/20/81

6t. Vinny Testaverde to Tyji Armstrong

81t

vs. L.A. Rams, 12/6/92

6t. Doug Williams to Jimmie Giles

81t

vs. Chicago, 11/1/81

8t. Brian Griese to Joey Galloway

80t

vs. Detroit, 10/2/05

8t. Jack Thompson to Jimmie Giles

80

at Dallas, 10/9/83

Underwood's long play was one of two successful deep connections for Glennon on the day. The other was a 47-yard hookup with WR Vincent Jackson that kick-started an 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. That play marked the 38th time in the last two seasons that Jackson has caught a pass of 20 or more yards, the third-most in the NFL during that span. Here are the top five in that category: